Never mind why this joke exists. It just does. And I thought I’d share it:

How many feminists does it take to screw in a light bulb?

The very choice of patritypical hyper macho sexual imagery in reference to what one might do with a light bulb exposes a deeply held and hegemonic bias objectifying the light bulb as both passive, willing victim and as compliant proxy for the colonial fate of southern hemisphere alterity.

someone in Buenos Aries is no doubt flushing their toilet in a more caring,culturally inclusive and diverse manner right now because of the tireless efforts of the humorless in our “fold”.

And I am thinking, for some odd reason, about Georgia O’Keefe, or a candle-lit dinner party replete with plates made of emblematic, fragile porcelain, and painted with vaginas…the scent of …roses in the air…no, that ain’t roses…

what white middle class feminiSS and African Americans who were brought here in chains have in common is still elusive to me…

Which reminds me: one little feminiSS died and went fluttering to feminiSS heaven, where there were men-like dwarves feeding raw mango pulp ( or ruby fruit or wutever feminiSS eat) to Diaphonously dressed women , while the women flattered each other about what nice outfits they all wore at the last screening of the Va-whiner Dialogues.

At the gates of feminiSS heaven sits Andrea Dworkin: four hundred pounds lighter, and wearing high heels: she places a pair of wings on the little feminiSS.

The little feminiSS says “Great Gaianmother Andrea, now that I am in heaven do I get to be fairy too?”

“No,” says Andrea “men can’t get in to heaven, but if you learn to flutter those new wings just right for me, I might just use you like a fan every time I blow some more hot air…”

The thing I find funny about it is the language. No, the old punchline isn’t funny [yawn], but this one is, at least in the context of some of the anti-feminist comments that get made on this blog. Come on, people, if you want to convince the other side that you have a point or two, try using language they’ll relate to.

And Napoleon, the slave trade is not the same thing as colonialism. It isn’t said well, but the point of the punchline has more to do with self-rule and the recognition of a person’s humanity.

I claim that as a female electrical engineer, I know about both feminism and lightbulbs, and I assert that the joke is 1) funny (or at least somewhat amusing) and 2) not inherently offensive to feminists (except perhaps to those who take themselves way too seriously)

Taking offense at these jokes about feminists seems to take on the assumption that poking fun at a feminist pokes fun at women. I am male, yet I consider myself a feminist. I was the local chapter secretary for NOW for a couple years, so I’m not just blowing smoke. My mom, sister, wife, and step-daughter are all women, and I strongly feel that I should not get preferential treatment just because I can put out a campfire without a bucket handy.

Comparing feminists to the SS, now that is deeply offensive, and if you can’t see why I’m not going to bother explaining it.

Comparing a joke that pokes fun at the perceived notion that feminists don’t have a sense of humor to racist or sexist jokes is taking things even more seriously than the average feminist (average from my experience, anyway).

And quite a lot of feminists do *not* have a sense of humor. Nellie McKay even wrote a song about it, “Mother of Pearl”.

What offended me most today was a guest on NPR saying that the current equal pay bill that got shot down in the Senate would be bad because it would mean that if a company knowingly paid a woman less because she was a woman and that woman had more than the current 180 days to take it to court after the initial incident, then companies would offshore more work because they would be afraid to conduct business here in the US. So it would be bad for the United States to punish companies that actively discriminate.

Women still make $.79 for every $1.00 a man makes in this country. *That* isn’t funny.

Those darn feminists never find any of MY misogynist jokes funny either!

“And quite a lot of feminists do *not* have a sense of humor. Nellie McKay even wrote a song about it, ‘Mother of Pearl’.”

I’m not sure if you’re being sarcastic here (my meter may need a recalibration), but I took the song to be a stab at the people who claim feminists don’t have a sense of humor. (For more supporting evidence, look up Terry Gross’s interview with Nellie.)

Also, to all of the “feminists” who came here to clear up what is and isn’t “offensive” to feminism, thanks, but we can think for ourselves. Please don’t presume to speak for all of feminism.

On a related note, here’s a quote from an article on ScienceDaily about a sexist humor study:

” ‘Our research demonstrates that exposure to sexist humor can create conditions that allow men – especially those who have antagonistic attitudes toward women – to express those attitudes in their behavior,’ he said. ‘The acceptance of sexist humor leads men to believe that sexist behavior falls within the bounds of social acceptability.’ ”

Heard the Fresh Air, seen her in concert, heard the song on Prairie Home Companion, and I still don’t know how I feel about the song. It shocks and amuses. I choose to perceive it as a statement of: feminists don’t have a sense of humor because there is a lot of evil fucked up shit going on.

I only speak for myself. And even then there may not be unanimity. I don’t presume, assume, or zoom-zoom. I did note that my comments were based on “my experience”, which would hardly qualify as universal.

But is making a joke about how humorless feminist discourse can be actually sexist? Is making a joke about sciblogs anti-science?

Quoth chapstickaddict:Also, to all of the “feminists” who came here to clear up what is and isn’t “offensive” to feminism, thanks, but we can think for ourselves. Please don’t presume to speak for all of feminism.

Agreed, no one can presume to speak for all of feminism. However, if some feminists find the joke funny and some do not, then either the joke is not inherently anti-feminist, or those feminists who find the joke funny are not proper feminists. I would prefer to be more inclusive of feminists while understanding that a joke can be unfunny to some without being offensive.

“Also: women really have no idea how much men hate them.” That’s better than the lightbulb joke, or at least funnier. I have no opinion of about 99.9999% of the women in the world other than the fact that I understand they are on the same planet as I am. Same, oddly with men, snails and fishes. I can say with some honesty that my hatred is so sparsely attributed that no woman is its subject. This was not true when I was young and had ex-girlfriends, but I was a boy then. But then, maybe I don’t know myself. I am just a man, after all.

HA! Thanks GL. I might use this joke and its comments in my paper as long as I don’t have to go through the IRB
Seriously, putting the words “feminist” and “humor” creates such a polemic– even in science-y type people. Anyway, I thought the joke you made up to be funny, and I don’t even like jokes (must be the feminist in me)! And, please up there, don’t say feminiSS. Ever.

I’m sure most of us feel it’s your ‘right’ to post this, just as it’s the right of many of us to find it unfunny without being called humourless feminazis. Ask any comedian about the importance of context to a joke. You’re posting this on ScienceBlogs, where I would garner that many/most of your female readers are scientists, science students, or working professionals. Which means that a lot of us have to deal with shit from men in our male-dominated workplaces and we come here to have a somewhat more enlightened discourse. Or not.

It’s as easy to make fun of humourless 1970’s style feminists as it is to make fun of humourless Marxist-Leninist Russians. The difference is that your visitors aren’t Marxist-Leninist Russians, but women, many of whom would call themselves feminist in at least some ways, even if they don’t relate to the type being made fun of in that joke.

The point about ‘n-gger’ jokes is well taken because if you wrote a joke on ScienceBlogs in which you made fun of how black ghetto rap artists talk and about how they are humourless and violent, do you think even ‘regular’ black readers would get offended? Some of them would. Because there aren’t a lot of black people in science and there aren’t a lot of women in many areas as well. So pardon us if we’re a bit sensitive, because we’re allowed, without having to hear lame ass excuses for posting stuff like this like “you made it yerself” and “you were helping a female feminist to joke about stuff!”. Lame and lamer.

I’m guessing you’re actually not a bad guy and that, chances are, with your background and your biologist wife etc that you are far enough away from a lot of this that you think we’re all ‘past’ it. Which is why you perceive it as ok to joke about it, because it’s a non-issue. The thing is Greg, for many of us, it’s not. When the other woman in your building is a secretary, and when all the men turn around and give you the stink eye when you walk into the library, it gets to you. The same as “funny feminist jokes” can get to you when you see them on a place like ScienceBlogs. Probably I’ll be called a humourless feminazi now, but so be it. Walk a mile in my shoes, in MANY of our shoes, y’all.

Notfunny: What is really funny is that this joke is in no way sexist. It does not have sexism or women as it’s intent or object. It is a joke about pomposity in academics and post modern readjustments of reality. (That’s the southern hemisphere part … do you now what the Southern Hemisphere means in modern academic social sciences and humanities parlance? Mostly, it’s north of the equator).

Anyway, my student, who is a certified feminist (and indeed one of the commenters above) thinks its funny, and she is a VERY hard audience.

Otherwise I agree with everything I said.

(and this is science. I’m an anthropologist. This is a ribbing critique, mini critique, really, about communication in the social sciences.)

“What is really funny is that this joke is in no way sexist. It does not have sexism or women as it’s intent or object. ”

Well, unfortunately, the joke in the context of this site is for me, sexist. And given some of the reactions, I wager I’m not the only one. If we were all academics in a similar field, or if we had just been joking about jargon, I might have been more inclined to give it a pass. But what looks like a tired old joke on a general science site? Like I said, sometimes context is everything. You seem to be assuming a whole context for this post that a lot of readers, like me, are just not going to ‘get’…

Greg- there are far funnier critques of post-modernism and pompous academics. Although if we’re going post-modern meta-communication, the fact that *you* are mocking these things amuses me far more than the rest of it. If that layer was intended, it is a clever joke indeed.

Being a blogger must be frustrating. Becca says that only the funniest of critiques are allowed, all others banished. Not funny knows the meaning of Laden’s statement better than Laden does. Susan chastises Laden for explaining himself when he is asked to explain himself.

Wow most of those those melting crones up there are fairly *dripping with misandry*…No, in fact, they ARE MISANDRIST, with misanthropes thrown in for good measure.

*misandry: the verbotten dialogue…*

“Men suck. ”
“Same, oddly with men, snails and fishes.”

“But hey, it happens to all guys at some point, and it’s not that big a deal.”

*and wet with mirror image projection*

“women really have no idea how much men hate them.”

But Monika(who IS NOT a feminiSS) says “And, please up there, don’t say feminiSS. Ever.” yields so wonderfully to her instincts at laughter, and my hat is tipped( because I fear more female perpetrated violence if I don’t follow the social norn of tipping my hat to th’ ladies).

I must say that all of this discourse above indicates a very cuntrolling aspect of some women that is frankly scary…kind of feminiSS like…

Venomous aspirants to redundancy spew “look at all the dicks you attracted to this thread. Heck, you even got a Limbaugh wannabe with his “feminiSS” idiocy.” NO, Virgina, I am no Rush fan, but if I had to pick his between your cuckolding bitterness and his flatulent arrogance, well, you get the idea “takes one to know one Ginny”.

and sadly, women who complain–loud and often–about what opportunities they DO enjoy: ” a lot of us have to deal with shit from men in our male-dominated workplaces,” forgetting of course, what those men had to put up with in female issue dominated households the first 18+ years of THEIR lives…

And, Stephanie:I will buy the crock of steaming hot crap that feminiSS are selling as soon as the men of America have all the women out there doin’ the field plowing, the Injun fightin’ and the world war attaining for us, while we sit back in sheltered, protected households waitin’ on our wimins to come home wid da check…trouble is, them there wimins always seem to find another fellah who will do the work for her…leaving the menfolks to rot in prisons( built by feminiSS rhetoric)while she sets up the next group of Internationalist capitalists to listen to her little ‘pity me’ fiddle…

I suppose my answer would be “one to do it simply, efficiently, and properly, and one useless idiot wearing the label to stand around and blather about how women cannot meaningfully consent to changing a lightbulb in a patriarchal society, sneer at anyone who disagrees with her, and generally write the Limbaugh types’ smears for them.”

Forgive me if I’m wrong, but it sounds like you’re also fan of Twisty. My boyfriend and I love her blog.

“Anyway, my student, who is a certified feminist (and indeed one of the commenters above) thinks its funny, and she is a VERY hard audience.”

Here’s an analogy you’ll understand: feminists are not Borg. We do not all think alike and we can be offended/not offended at different topics. That’s what having a healthy discourse is all about. Also, there are many different kinds of feminism. One woman’s feminist group could be another woman’s “Independent Women’s Forum” (ack!).

chapstickaddict, I found it funny. I laughed. I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do that if Greg hadn’t shared. If everyone who had a blog only posted things that couldn’t possibly offend anyone, well, I’d have more time on my hands that I now spend reading.

Jokes have their audience. None of them are universal. If you’re not part of the audience for this joke, it isn’t necessarily a reflection on Greg–or on you. Calling Greg sexist because you don’t share the same sense of humor, especially after he’s explained the joke to you, is a waste of time you could spend on something you do enjoy.

Quoth chapstickaddict: Here’s an analogy you’ll understand: feminists are not Borg. We do not all think alike and we can be offended/not offended at different topics. That’s what having a healthy discourse is all about. Also, there are many different kinds of feminism.

So given that feminism is not monolithic, and that (hopefully) we can agree that whether one finds this joke humourous or offensive does not determine ones qualifications as a feminist, why don’t we explore *why* the joke might or might not be offensive to feminists. Given that I consider myself a feminist, and do not find the joke offensive, I am honestly interested to understand those that do.

Thankfully, feminism IS NOT monolithic, though some of its last wave of douchetabulous proponents sure looked like monoliths…”caras de le pietra…” “las mente de caca”

And Azkyroth: how did you stumble over here? Isn’t there enough bitter, cuckolding PC ‘rhetorical’ middle class white womens feminism over at PZ’s for you?

So why don’t you go back there, with your head tucked firmly between your dingle-berry rattling yaks behind, and meditate on silence–or better yet, meditate on the Dalai Lamas involvement with Nazi propagandists…

Greg said:
“Next time I need to know how to think, or see the obvious, or have an opinion, I’ll get in touch with you, and you can tell me what to do. Appreciate it.”

And then I said: hawhawhawhawhawhAAAA….

I think I shat myself with laughter, realizing that I am not the only person on earth who has a problem with dogmatic jerks, loud-mouthed hypocrites, and napoleonic pretending female bullies calling themselves feminists, and making all of women (many of whom are actual feminists; some of whom are quite interesting, insightful, and powerful women, despite the labels that other women attempt to inscribe onto their flesh)look bad as a result.

Stephanie: I must say that to “try using language they’ll relate to” adds to an uncommon discourse, or submission to dogmatic ideology, and all of the other insular, relative, and transient language directives that amount to saying *sig heil*.

In other news, the original joke was funny. I can’t stand that kind of non-answer either; it reminds me obliquely of the person who chewed me out a few years back because he interpreted “the pot calling the kettle black” as a racist statement.

i am a woman. i dont agree with most feminist views. i love the jokes told at the begining. and as a innocent wrighter i think its funny to read all your comments between each other. i am writing a report on feminism and why i dissagree with it, but im begining to realize that both sides are equilly wrong.
to the feminists:
whywould i side with up tight women who cant prove themselves in anyway but get offended and what are the men supposed to do when you claw out there throats.
to the men.
im soo sorry.

By Other Blog Is…: The X Blog

Here’s a great video on improving the history of graphic presentation and the effort to improve graphic visualization. It is from Better Figures, which is an actual web site with the subtitle “Constructive criticism of the graphics of climate science.” But I think the basic ideas discussed on that site and in this video are […]

From the Yale Climate Connections, a brief interview with Michael Mann. Global warming can cause record winter storms. It may sound counterintuitive, but itâ€™s no snow job. When the oceans warm, more water evaporates into the air. MANN: â€œAnd what that means is thereâ€™s more precipitation. Water is cycling more vigorously through the atmosphere, and […]

It is estimated that when batteries approach $150 per KWh, the cost of all electric cars will become similar to gasoline driven cars. Since electricity itself is cheaper than gasoline (per distance driven) this would make electric cars a very good idea. Converting fossil fuel to electricity to run a vehicle is more efficient than […]

I am not an expert on Search Engine Optimization but I’ve been messing around with it a bit lately and thought I’d pass on a few tips. These tips relate to both SEO (Search Engine Optimization) proper, which means helping people find your blog posts, which, in turn, means hyping up your Google Juice, as […]

From NPR: Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., the Democratic leader in the Senate, said he won’t seek re-election next year. “My friend Sen. [Mitch] McConnell, don’t be too elated. I’m going to be here for 22 months,” he said referring to the Senate majority leader from Kentucky. “And you know what I’m going to be doing? […]

Subscribe to Greg Laden's Blog

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive endless notifications of new posts by email.

Email Address

Specialized Search Engines

The Climate Change Science Search Engine. Look for on line information about climate change from a collection of trusted sources.